Late penalty clouds Gómez's brace in RSL's 3-2 loss to Colorado in Rocky Mountain Cup finale

Cole Bassett had two assists and converted the game-winning penalty kick in the final minutes of regulation to help the Colorado Rapids top RSL, 3-2 Saturday night to clinch the Rocky Mountain Cup.

For just the sixth time in the 20-year history of the fan-made Rocky Mountain Cup rivalry, Real Salt Lake won’t be taking the trophy home with Claret-and-Cobalt streamers.

Cole Bassett had two assists and converted the game-winning penalty kick in the final minutes of regulation to help the Colorado Rapids top RSL, 3-2 Saturday night to clinch the Rocky Mountain Cup for the Rapids for the second time since 2015.

It’s the first time that Colorado (12-9-5, 41 points) has won the Cup since 2020, when MLS did not count the game played in the MLS is Back Tournament and the Rapids claimed the trophy on goal differential.

Andrés Gómez notched a brace for RSL (12-5-8, 44 points), his fourth multi-goal game of the season and second in six appearances.

But a game that should have been mentioned for a handful of top-shelf performances, including Gómez and Bassett, was left decided by a controversial penalty call in the final minutes of regulation that Bassett delivered past RSL goalkeeper Gavin Beavers into the upper 90.

“I thought tonight was a really good performance,” RSL manager Pablo Mastroeni said after the match. “But it’s clouded and it’s marred with a bit of controversy.

“It’s like having a tough day at the office; you wake up the next day, life goes on, and the sun comes out. When you’re in the moment, you’re obviously emotional — as are the guys in the locker room.”

Real Salt Lake rotated heavily between Wednesday’s 1-1 draw at LAFC and Saturday’s Rocky Mountain Cup finale, with six changes to the starting lineup.

That included the return of Gómez to the right wing, and the Colombian winger made up for his one-match suspension due to yellow-card accumulation by striking his 13th goal of the season to give Salt Lake a 1-0 advantage in the ninth minute.

Brayan Vera forced a giveaway on the left side before flipping the field to an open Gómez for his fourth assist of the season.

RSL were cruising early, dominating possession and out-shooting Colorado 4-1 in the first half hour. But the game rapidly in a five-minute span.

Bassett found Jonathan Lewis for the equalizer on a half-volley in the 35th minute, and the two connected again on Sam Vines’ go-ahead goal less than four minutes later that gave the Rapids a 2-1 advantage earned with just 32% of possession en route to the one-goal halftime advantage.

That led to a weather delay following a nearby lightning strike at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park at halftime, a stoppage of just under 2 hours from the final kick of the first half until second-half kickoff.

The delay didn’t cool off Gómez, though. The Colombian winger struck again in the 49th minute, equalizing for his fourth multi-goal game in 23 matches for RSL.

Colorado found the edge — and the win — in the 88th minute. That’s when Bassett stepped up to the spot and converted a right-footed penalty kick to help the hosts improve to 6-0-2 in their past eight home matches.

The decision was not without controversy, though. Justen Glad, who donned the captain’s armband in his first start since June 1, was called for a foul on a handball in the box, though Salt Lake argued that his arm was pushed into an unnatural position before making contact with the carom off a corner kick.

“I think the decision there at the end completely clouds what this game is all about, what a derby is all about,” Mastroeni said. “The more I watch soccer, the more I’m confused about what is a natural position when you’re getting ready to jump. It’s insane for a game like this to be determined by a subjective call.

“Colorado has something like 15 PKs; we have two. It’s not complain hour — it’s just the facts. There’s something interesting about that, because handballs could be called every single play. For one team to have 15 and they got another call when we played at our house … If the player doesn’t know anything about it, I think that’s the frustration. But the fact that I’m talking about this takes away from the effort, from the performance of our guys, in a game that should be decided by the guys on the field.”

With the loss, RSL dropped to third place in the Western Conference, just 3 points ahead of Colorado before Wednesday’s annual MLS All-Star Game against the Liga MX All-Stars in Columbus, Ohio. LA Galaxy are first with 49 points, followed by LAFC at 2 points back — but both LAFC and RSL have games in hand on the Galaxy.

Both teams will take a break along with the rest of the league when Leagues Cup play opens Friday through Aug. 25. RSL opens the competition Aug. 1 against Liga MX side Atlas at America First Field in Sandy.